Specialty vaccine company Valneva SE has announced the signing of a new $32 million contract with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for the supply of its Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine, IXIARO®.

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Source: CDC/ Frank Collins, Ph.D.

Pictured in this 2005 image was this Ochlerotatus japonicus, formerly known as Aedes japonicus mosquito. This species is suspected of being a vector of the Japanese Encephalitis virus in Asia, and the West Nile in the United States.

Under this new one-year contract, the DoD will buy a minimum of $32 million worth of IXIARO® vaccines and has the possibility to purchase additional doses during the coming 12 months. Deliveries will commence immediately.

Dipal Patel, Chief Commercial Officer of Valneva commented: “We are excited to continue our long-term relationship with the DoD. The U.S. military has trusted IXIARO® for over ten years to help protect military personnel, their families, civilian government service personnel, and government contractors from this potentially deadly disease.”

IXIARO® is the only JE vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), having been developed through a cooperative research and development agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. In the US, Valneva markets and distributes IXIARO® directly to the military and private travel market.

Deadly disease 

Japanese encephalitis is a deadly infectious disease found mainly in Asia. About 70,000 cases of JE are estimated to occur in Asia each year, although the actual number of cases is likely much higher due to underreporting in rural areas.

JE is fatal in approximately 30 percent of those who show symptoms, and leaves half of survivors with permanent brain damage. The disease is endemic in Southeast Asia, India and China, a region with a population of more than three billion.

In 2005, JE killed more than 1,200 children in only one month during an epidemic outbreak in Uttar Pradesh, India, and Nepal.

Valneva SE is a specialty vaccine company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases.

The copmpany says it is leveraging its expertise and capabilities to rapidly advance a broad range of vaccines into and through the clinic, including candidates against the chikungunya virus and Lyme disease.

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